Kitten escapes death by conveyor belt thanks to alert work at recycling plant

In this photo taken Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015, is a tiny kitten that was found on a conveyor belt and escaped potential death at recycling center in Galt, Calif. The tiny kitten now has a new home after being found at the Northern California recycling center. A Cal-Waste Recovery Systems operator spotted the kitten heading down a conveyor belt Tuesday, moving toward near-certain death by compression. Loader operator Tony Miranda says the kitten presumably made it through a ride in a dump truck before a tractor pushed the kitten onto one of two conveyer belts. Miranda scooped up the pink-nosed, white-pawed kitten after it fell from the first belt to the other. (KCRA-TV via AP)

GALT, Calif. (AP) – A worker at a Northern California recycling center saved a tiny kitten from certain death when he spotted the animal heading down a conveyor belt.

Tony Miranda tells television station KCRA that he was sorting recyclables Tuesday when he found the pink-nosed, white-pawed cat between the debris and scooped it up.

It's not clear how the kitten got in with the trash, but it may have survived a ride in a dump truck before a tractor pushed it onto one of two conveyer belts.

A call went out to employees of Cal-Waste Recovery Systems that a baby cat had been discovered at the facility in Galt, a city about 90 miles northeast of San Francisco.